Tuaca

Tuaca is very evil.

Love computers

Love/Hate is the thing which is the core motivator for decisions in us as human beings. Thus, if the AI guys are going to crack the creativity problem they must come up with a way to replicate these philosophies/spiritualities in a mechanism. I can understand modelling emotional response as a procedure, but surely this is fundamentally different from modelling emotional experience which by its nature can not be described due to the mediation of the construct of the communication form being used. The only way to resolve this problem is to deny that emotion exists separately from the communication construct employed. This would mean that I am my communication.

Eventually I would of course agree with this statement in the same way that I consider truth to be a relative quantity. The only question remains what we consider to be the target of these relative measurements. As a Christian I consider this to be God/Christ... however, this implies that I love only to the extent that my response is characterised by the love that God exhibits.

How do you deal with bad customer service?

So I was on the line with AT&T today trying to work out why my friend Amos (who doesn't speak great English) was having trouble getting a phone line connected.

I can safely say that this was one of the most humiliating, hurtful experiences I have had in years. I am left wondering why we as a society have ended up with this situation where paying for a service to be provided is so often accompanied by terrible personal experiences like these. It's not just this industry - recently I and others I know have had terrible experiences with companies like American Airlines, State Farm Auto Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Bank of Ireland, a private contractor, Expedia.com, Compass bank, John Eagle Honda and others...

There seems to be an implicit understanding in the marketplace that customers can be treated badly because none of the other companies do much better.

Which leaves me wondering what a consumer can do. Dealing with these large companies (mostly) leaves definite emotional injuries - yet I wonder if it's really worth bothering switching to another provider. After all - aren't these companies all just variations on a theme?

So I'm left wondering - what do you think are good ways to deal with these issues?

Transformers movie is almost more than meets the eye

So the movie was kind of cool if you followed the cartoon. However, this is where the cool stopped. The robots were not particularly well matched to their cartoon designs. The human on human violence, never mind robot on human violence was enough to make me cry within the first five minutes of the movie. With US military and Iraqi locals dying by the hundreds every day, I fail to see how anyone can sit back and enjoy this movie without making the connection to the horror of what is really happening.

As if that were not enough, the entire movie turns out to be one long parade of military heroism, camaraderie and military-industrial propaganda. The 17 year old boy inside me was ready to jump into the nearest Blackhawk and mow down some evil Arabs at the merest suggestion. This was a bit offset by the disgusting "hot/thin white chick with perfect teeth who knows cars" who was supposed to be the prize for our gallant hero.

I read on the web that this movie was somehow anti-Bush because of its "Ding dong" reference. However, I'm not sure that you could produce a more pro-Bush movie if you tried. Yeah the president is a jerk, but he's also the head of a kick-ass military machine striving for the good of all mankind - principally by breaching all known bounds of international jurisdiction....

If you decide to accept the military propaganda angle, it still leaves the somewhat disturbing aspects of destruction of property, all kinds of vehicle-lust and a complete disregard for tragedy in general.

This movie sucks and will further debilitate America's ability to be taken seriously by the rest of the world.

<JRM>
Wanted to be video-game-sleek and shiny as a new Lexus, but was as clunky as anything rolling off today's GM assembly line. Misogynistic, racist, and unabashedly infatuated with its own
strategies of product placement to boot. The most heroic characters in the film: the Murdoch-Accent Hacker Barbie and that vaguely Dixie-ish Sec. Of Defense played by John Voight? Please.

Still, what amazing composite work on the special effects. Kind of a cheap out that Megatron did not actually transform into anything recognizable.

Give me the real ultra-violence of THE WARRIORS any day.
</JRM>

Remedy thirst

The thirst for crisis creeps closer falling
People thought I was the minister of
Fluid motion toward the walls
The bow toward me
Fever pitches that I am the great one
I am the I am the
People thought that I was the architect
I am the I was the problem
The issue was self-preservation
The remedy was rest.

San Fran Freako

SJ and I had a great time in San Francisco. First visit there for both of us. We are singing awesome music at choir at the moment (for the most part) Rennaisance can't be beat. Work is still crazy, but I finally have enough time to blog again a little.

So I had given up on the builder recommended to me for house repairs and decided not to sue him as it was more effort than the deposit was worth. Fortunately my hero Mrs. K descended upon him as vengeful fire from heaven and this morning work resumed after a 3 month hiatus. Hooray.

Don't know about you guys but this year seems packed full of stuff I must consider accomplishing and overcoming. It can be exhausting at times.

Find photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/goofballlogic/SanFransisco07?authkey=SVaCVjP4jOc

Ugly mess

so if you visit my blog, please leave a comment. I like to know that people are reading and it helps me stay in touch with friends.


I feel pulled in a million directions right now. I wish life was a bit more simple sometimes. Even though I enjoy the complexity. I think one of the things that makes programming fun for me is that I spend my time sorting and straightening out twisted lines of logic. When I have done a good job, everything is left in good order, tidy and accessible. When I have done a bad job, things are so jumbled that the application starts to show unpredictable signs of instability. Basically the logic becomes disorganized and consequences start to build upon each other in unpredictable ways.

One of the holy grails of programming has been the concept of black boxes. This enables us to put a bunch of logic in a black box, and then use it as a chunk without having to worry about the details. Think of a kitchen appliance. You don't have to know how the electronics inside work, you just turn the kettle on and the water heats up, then it turns itself off and you pour the water out.


That's what I spend my day trying to do. Making a "kettle" that you don't have to wiggle the power cord and tape the lid down with duct tape and you don't have to hold it upside down to get the hot water out.

Click to use Google to search public code for:

• Code that is commented with "ugly mess"


• Code that is commented with "beautiful code"


• Code that is commented with "fuckin mess"

Editing links on your blog

Find the template in your blog settings:


Then scroll dooooown till you find the links section:

Blogging, RSS, Google

OK - here's an interesting blogging wrinkle for those of you interested. The following is a screenshot of my personalized Google homepage with the Google Reader control showing a list of blog items from various friends.

The following are four steps (roughly) to accomplish this. It assumes that you have a personalized google homepage. Let me know if you want more help with this.

Suicide bunny

So for Christmas my awesome sister and brother in law bought me the bunny suicides books 1 and 2. > On Amazon < I am so touched that they know me well enough to buy them for me.

So snow falls in Dallas for a day or two. Something new for everyone to freak out about then I suppose. I havn't looked but I'm sure the news channels will have an all day extravaganza on snow - it's atomic chemistry, political bias and sociological impact.... bah humbug.

So throughout the world I feel a little lost as to where my home is. I realize that the choice is mine to make, however.... senses of home drift like clouds in the sky. Of course I feel at home with my darling bunny but... she drifts also.

Well... off to programing heaven or hell for me today. We shall see what the day brings. Muse - Origin of Symmetry...

Returning home (to Dallas) I have been kicked in the ass by a monstrous panic attack. Combination of anxiety about seeing my darling again, horrible work, and terrible house responsibilities. SJ has been so patient, kind and secure in the face of it. I am thoroughly impressed with this woman.

Last night she told a very funny story about sparring with guys and always being surprised when she was overwhelmed. If you know what SJ looks like you would understand how funny this is. She's possibly shorter even that Tia which is saying something. "I always seem to think - 'maybe this time I'll win'" : >

Sin-like friend test

OK - here's my test thingy so I can be cool like Sin.

Take the test

Homeward bound

Is that sniff because of that massive cold I have, or because of the pain of leaving behind relatives young and old, or because of the joy of returning to my honey pot...? Yes. Nightmare flight tomorrow. Should be ok once I make the connection in Gatwick. Can't wait to see SJ again.

I look forward with excitement and trepidation. Will my hopes be dashed?

Hello island hoppers

I have aligned myself with the Belfast bed tonight. Once more I have flown from Island to island and tomorrow I shall ship out again up north to see Grandparents Sam and Flo. How awesome. How tiring. It is a great experience. I think Sarah-Jane is awesome. My sister is awesome too, but in a different way.


Milport on the Island of Cumbrae


"The Wedge" is the narrowest house in Millport. Yup - that little cream part....


Bringing in the New Year in Scotland


The Scottish mainland

I am now in Scotland

Where SJGR and Pete have their house. In a village called Stonehouse. Very nice little place they have. It's a pretty place and I am very happy for them. Scotland is nice as usual. I am aware that I am far far from home which is increasingly seeming like a person rather than a place. How horribly sickening. Still - makes a nice change. I wonder where I will end up. The twisted paths I tred....

And there's this. How do I stop feeling sad, failure, sorry for everything that happened with A?

Pete and SJGR’s visitation

A Christmas Sonnet on the event of Pete and SJGR’s visitation
Monday, 25 December 2006

When smells of bird and beast assail our sense
And choc’late lies like gold around the fire
Then is the food half way to coming hence
Our guts to greater measures then aspire.
The table set and glasses spark’ling clean
With strange and gaudy napkins laid around
The ham and turkey shimmer golden sheen,
And Pete’s digestive juices start to sound.
Tucked away, a baby lies fast sleeping,
Its first pre-Christmas loud about its ears.
Worlds of Christmas Eve anticipation
Visit us on Christmas Day this great year.
No more! That turkey’s succulent and hot.
A toast to family - both seen and not.

Older older older

Who the hell wants to get old? What with my great-aunt losing her mind and my grandfather in pain with his knee... Plus he longs to be out travelling the world when he struggles to get up the stairs at night. The limitations of old age are painful indeed.

Nonetheless my grandmother has almost no short-term memory any more and she appears to be one of the happiest people I know. Always playing tricks on my grandfather and laughing at the most inane things. The fact that she can't really hear either doesn't get in the way. And I'm sure I've never seen such affection from a wife toward her husband. It's quite amazing what losing your adult sensibilities can do for you sometimes.

I wonder if the secret is to lose them before nature takes them from you.

Ireland ho

Here I am in Lisburn, Ireland. Right here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&amp;q=BT28+3BW&ie=UTF8&z=19&ll=54.520691,-6.048596&spn=0.000708,0.003377&t=h&om=1

I am enjoying seeing grandparents etc. and went to a nice Christmas Eve service in St. George's Anglican church in Belfast with SJGR and Pete. However I miss the smell of sj's hair terribly and I miss her leaning on my chest looking into my eyes.

BUT the big news is that I am soon to be an uncle for the first time. That's right - my dirty dog of a brother in law has gotten my little sister banged up! She is due in June. I almost had a baby when she told us at the dinner table tonight. Amazing news.

Something wierd is happening to me. I feel almost positive. Hmm. I'm sure Christmas Day will fix that (of course it's already here for me... but since my captive audience is still on the 'Eve I shall refrain from wishing you those festive witterings that will fall so welcomingly from my lips tomorrow. Nyes.

Now to research Sonnet form... I hear that's quite romantic.

Wooing of the shrew

Sometimes I feel a little hurt by my friends. I am overly sensitive to their actions - interpreting business for lack of care or distraction for anger.

So my trip to Mr. Avery's paid off :-) Very much appreciated. I am well and truly chuffed with how lucky I am to have found the most wonderful one. It's that sense of having known a person for years. A feeling of being at home no matter where you are. I have never felt this before.

Hello field-mice

Are you lonely this Christmas? If so - ha ha i'm not. Yes indeed. Bah humbug is hard to say with your mouth fully engaged elsewhere. So going home Saturday for two weeks. But there's a small chance I may get stuck in the airport and miss the family Christmas. It would probably save me 5 or 10 pounds, but mumsie would be oh so upset. I can't do that to her even if I would rather sleep in the airport....

Just dinner tonight with the cohorts - quick round of Christmas shopping needed before that. Remember to take my Black Bush out of the trunk and into the house.

Did I tell you that I met this rather wonderful woman? Oh yeah... I did. So I suppose I should track down a nice nice Christmas present for her. Women of the world unite in advising me about this... thanks to holymanontoast for her advice already. I went by Mr. Avery's last night and found a likely suspect. We shall see.

So what are you listening to? I have Kernis in the car and RATM at work. A deliciously festive concoction I'm sure you'll agree. Killing in the name of....

That's all for now field-mice. Any subject matter requests for forthcoming blogs?